English
Tippex
Tippex comes from German tippen ‘to type’, and goes back to Latin ex.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEex
- Germanc. 1650–presenttippen‘to type’
- Englishearliest quotation 1996Tippex
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history not traced here.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEex
- Germanc. 1650–presenttippen‘to type’
- Englishearliest quotation 1996Tippex
Earliest quotation: 1996, Tamara Goriely, Tom Williams: “If an application form is completed incorrectly or there's…”
The story
Tipp-Ex is originally a trademark, owned since 1997 by Société Bic. Its use in the general sense is an example of trademark erosion. The first component is from the German verb tippen (‘to type’), and the second from Latin ex.
Linked words
through Latin ex
exchange, ex, squash, extort, affray, extenuating, excommunicate, enunciation, 11 more
Today it means
noun A particular brand of correction fluid, or correction fluid in general.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin ex / Tippex